Station 1 – Read and Write
My Pet Dinosaur
Materials: copies of the book "If the Dinosaurs Came Back" by Bernard Most,
My Pet Dinosaur paper, pencil, crayons, posters of different kinds of dinos
Bernard Most’s small poster of dinos
1. Each helper reads the book to 1 or 2 children.
2. Briefly discuss the part each child liked and/or their own ideas of what might happen if the dinosaurs came back.
3. “Now let’s pretend you have a pet dinosaur. You can write down all your ideas on this paper. You’ll draw your picture last so I can help you with your writing, if you need it.” Questions to ask and the child fills in his/her answers: “What kind of dinosaur do you have? Does it eat plants or meat or something else? What is its favorite thing to eat? What can you do with your pet? Can your pet do a trick? What ideas from the story can give you an idea to write about?” Choose a prompt: “My pet dinosaur can ____.” Or “My pet dinosaur likes to_____.” The child can brainstorm ideas with you then should write his/her sentence with a pencil. If a child needs help, the helper should stretch each word (say the sounds in the word) in the sentence but try not spell the words. Let the child guess how to spell the words in their sentence. If there is time, the child can draw a picture of their dinosaur in the box, last.
The helper should write what the sentence says on the back of the paper so if we need to finish it later we will know what the sentence is about. Collect the papers so we can share them with the children.
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If there is time for another activity do:
Dinosaur Booklet Worksheet: p. 1 Sequence
In each row, talk about what happened first, second and last.
Write the number (1, 2 or 3) in each box with a pencil.
Do this worksheet together as a group, individually or with a partner.
If there is no extra time, leave the worksheet blank.
March 2007
Station 2: Triceratops Mask
Materials:
paper plate with eyes already cut out and nose horn slot cut, half a paper plate with the 3 horns traced, kid scissors, adult scissors, glue, crayons, trays for the crayons, roll of tape, popsicle sticks, pencil to write name, trash bag
Procedure:
1. Show the sample. Children color the full paper plate piece with the eye holes. Color the three horns on the half sheet then cut them out. Cut points on the head horns. Color the back of each horn. Parent tapes the head horns in place and tapes the nose horn in place. (The nose slot may have to be made a little longer to allow the horn to fit.)
2. Put a small dot of glue on the popsicle stick then tape it to the bottom of the mask so they can hold it up to their face.
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If there is time for another activity do:
Dinosaur Booklet Worksheet: p. 2 Count the Dinosaur Teeth
Children count the number of teeth each dinosaur has
then write the number that tells how many.
Refer to the number chart for help with forming numbers.
If there is no extra time, leave the worksheet blank.
March 2007
Station 3 - Card Game: Go Hunt!
Use the same bags of cards to play with all day.
Materials: Give each child a new bag of cards to put in his/her Dino Day bag to take home. Each baggie has directions for 2 games and 14 dinosaur cards inside. There are 7 matching sets of dinosaurs.
Procedure: Teach the card game to each child and let him/her play it.
Play Go Hunt! or Concentration as many times as the kids want.
Go Hunt Game: For 2 or 3 Players
Give each player 3 cards. Spread the rest of the cards face down on a flat surface. The first player asks for a card to match one in his/her hand. For example, "Do you have a tyrannosaurus?" (Nonreaders may show the card to the other players to ask for a matching dinosaur.) If the player asked has the card to match, he/she gives it to the first player, who then takes another turn. If the player asked does not have a matching card, he/she says, "Go Hunt," and the first player must pick a card from the face down cards. If the card drawn matches, the first player puts the pair down in view of the other players and takes another turn. If it doesn't match, the first player keeps the card in his/her hand and the next player begins his/her turn. The game continues until one player matches all of the cards in his/her hand.
Concentration: To Play Alone or With A Friend
Turn all the cards face down on the table in front of you. If playing alone: The child turns 2 cards over. If they match he/she keeps them in a pile. If they don't match he/she turns them back over. Try to remember where you saw the matching card. If playing with a friend: The first child turns over 2 cards. If they match, the child keeps them in a pile and takes another turn. If they don't match, he/she turns the cards back over and the turn passes to the second player. The player with the most cards after making all the matches is the winner.
If there is time for another activity do:
Dinosaur Booklet Worksheet: p. 3 Big or Small
With a pencil, write the correct word under each picture.
If there is no extra time, leave the worksheet blank.
March 2007
Station 4 – Write and Read
Materials: My Dinosaur Book - 10 page book already assembled, pencils, sharpener, 10 sets of word rings with the word cards: land, eggs, big, small, meat, plants, colored pencils on trays
7 lavender strategy posters, a list of the strategies, other easy dinosaur books to read
Procedure: Work with 1 or 2 children at a time. “You’re going to finish writing this story about dinosaurs then you will read the whole book to me today. I’m here to help you, if you need it.” Encourage the child to read or decode the words on his/her own, using the strategies we have been practicing.
Give the child a word ring. “These are the words you’ll need to fill in the blanks in your book. Can you try to read them to me?” Refer to the lavender colored posters for decoding strategies you can suggest the child try, if/when he/she gets stuck on a word. “Do you see a little word you know?” “Can you make the sound of each letter to see if you hear a word that makes sense?” “Do you know what this word means?”
Give the child a copy of the book. Ask him/her to write “by” and his/her name on the cover under the title. “Can you read the title?” The child reads it as he/she points to the words. On pages with a blank: Using the “word ring,” the child chooses the word that would make sense then copies the word on the line. The child then reads the sentence to you as he/she points to the words.
p. 2 Dinosaurs lived long ago.
p. 3 Dinosaurs lived on land.
p. 4 Dinosaurs laid eggs.
p. 5 Some dinosaurs ate meat.
After filling in all the blanks the child should read his/her book to you.
If time: The child can choose an easy book about dinosaurs to read to you.
Have the child put his/her book in his/her bag to take along.
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If there is time for another activity do:
Dinosaur Worksheet: p. 4 Color a Dinosaur
Use the colored pencils to color your dinosaur any way you want.
If there is no extra time, leave the worksheet blank.
March 2007
Station 5 - Prehistoric Bingo
Materials: 2 tables: one for each game, divide children in 2 groups
Each game has 8 Bingo cards, 18 different dinosaur cards,
pronunciation guide, circles to use as markers
Procedure:
1) Give each child 9 round blue markers and a bingo card. Tell the children not all the animals on the cards are dinosaurs. Some of them are reptiles that lived at the same time as the dinosaurs in the ocean or the air. To win the game they must cover the whole card.
2) How to Play: The children put a blue marker on the FREE square in the middle of the card. The parent turns over a dinosaur card from the pile and names it. The children look to see if they have it on their bingo card. If they do, they put a marker on top of the picture. If not, they do nothing. Continue playing until someone covers all the pictures on their card. The child calls “Bingo” and checks the pictures covered against the dinosaurs already called.
3) If time, the children can trade cards then play again.
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If there is time for another activity do:
Dinosaur Booklet Worksheet: p. 5 Sequence of Egg Hatching
Connect the dots to show what happens first, next, next and last.
Children can color the pictures with crayons, if time.
If there is no extra time, leave the worksheet blank.
March 2007
Station 6 - Sort Dinosaurs
Materials: 9 baskets filled with plastic dinosaurs,
one basket for each child to work with
Procedure: “How many ways can you think of to sort your dinosaurs into groups?” Take suggestions from the children then let them sort their own basket into as many of the ways as they can. After each time they sort, they show an adult then mix the dinos and sort a new way. Let the child think of ways on his/her own. If the child can’t then you may suggest a way for the child to sort –refer to the chart or the following list.
Some ways to sort: by color, plant eater/meat eater, type of dinosaur, big/little, walked on 4 legs/2 legs, lived in the ocean/on land/in air
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Dinosaur Booklet Worksheet: p. 6
KinderCorner Math Activity Sheet C: Add dinos
Materials: basket of dinos, a pencil, paper plate
whiteboards, markers, erasers
Procedure: Each helper should work with a small group of 1 or 2 children. Use a paper plate for each child’s“area.”Children can use any of the dinos in their basket to “show” the problem. In the first one, they should show one dino plus one dino equals 2. With a pencil, trace the one footprint then trace the 2 on the line. In the nextproblem, they should place 2 dinos on the table and move one dino to the group. Draw a footprint in the box then make a 3 on the line. Do the same thing for each problem. Refer to the number chart for the correct formation of the numbers.
If you run out of time, leave the rest of the problems blank.
If there is time, the helper “shows” a problem and the children write the numbers in the problem on a white board. For example, the helper places 3 dinos in front of the child, the child writes a 3 on the whiteboard. The helper adds 3 more to the group, the child writes “ + 3 =” then the child adds the dinos and writes the answer. The helper continues to do addition problems the same way. You can also try subtraction problems. If there is time the children can make up their own problems.
March 2007
Station 7 - Make A Headband
Materials: card with 4 dinos on it, strips of white construction paper, crayons, colored pencils, trays to put the colored pencils on, roll of tape (for cutting mistakes), kid scissors, adult scissors, stapler and staples, trash can
- Children trace the names of the 4 dinosaurs with colored pencils then cutthem out.Fit the strip of white construction paper around the child’s head. Write the child’s name on the headband. (Tip:Try to make the smooth part of the staple next to the child's hair so it doesn't pull hair every time he/she puts the headband on or takes it off.)
2. The helper staples the 4 dinosaurs around the headband so the dinos stick
above the band.The children can color the dinos.
3. The children may decorate the white headband strip using colored pencils or
crayons, if time allows.
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If there is time for another activity do:
Dinosaur Booklet Worksheet:
p. 7 KinderCorner Math: Graph the Number of Eggs
A helper can help a child do the first one. Count the number of eggs at the bottom of the first column. Color a box using a colored pencil for each egg
then write the number on the line. Do this for each column. Refer to the number chart for correct formation of the numbers.
If there is no extra time, leave the worksheet blank.
March 2007
Station 8 - Artifacts and Puzzles
Materials:
1) artifacts: various skulls, antlers, claws, time line, info pages, US map,
fossils from Mr. Ochu in Missouri
2) p. 8 in dino booklet in their bag, worksheet with puzzle pieces to match
3) floor puzzle: T-Rex puzzle for the kids to assemble
Procedure:
1) Explain that the bones are not dinosaur fossils. Any guesses as to what animal the bones may have come from? (goat, deer) Explain how fragile (breakable) these real bones are and encourage care when handling them. Show the shell fossils in the flat rocks that came from Missouri. At one time there was water covering part of Missouri and these are underwater fossils found by a high school teacher Mrs. Jones knows. Show where Missouri is on the map. Show the claw Mrs. Jones got from a museum and how the dinosaur used the claw to rip open skin so it could bite the meat to eat. Show the big shell and let each child hold it up to his/her ear.
2) Dinosaur Booklet Worksheet: p. 8 Look at the number under each puzzle piece and decide where it fits on the puzzle. Write the number on the lines near the piece. Refer to the number chart for correct formation of the numbers.
3) Then the children can put the T-Rex floor puzzle together. Don’t break it apart after each group moves on. Let a group add to it until it is complete. Children can look at it from neighboring groups. Then break it apart and start over again.
March 2007
Station 9 - Dinosaur Phonics Game
Objective: to be the first player to get your dinosaur to the top of the mountain to win! Materials: game in a baggie
Set Up: Use the 2 yellow letter dice and the red number die.
Lay the mat on the table with the orange border face up.
Choose one of the dinosaurs as your game piece.
Place your game piece on the space marked START.
Each child rolls the number die.
The child who rolls the highest number goes first.
Play: Roll the number die. Move your game piece the number of spaces shown. Roll the 2 yellow consonant dice. Look at the word on the space where you landed. Try to make a new word by SWAPPING one of the letters shown on your dice with the first letter in the word you landed on, or by ADDING one of the letters shown on your dice to the beginning of the word you landed on. Example: If you land on the word “oat” and you roll a “c” and a “b” you can make these words:
Add a beginning letter: boat or coat
Swap a beginning letter: bat or cat
You can help sound out the word but let the child try first. (Then you may tell the child what the word is he/she landed on then let the child try to make a new word by rhyming.) Then it is the next player’s turn. The first player to get their dinosaur to the top of the mountain wins!
Special dice rolls: If you roll a dinosaur head you can choose any letter to make a new word. If you roll a dinosaur footprint, you lose a turn.
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Switch partners and play the game again if there is interest or do:
Dinosaur Booklet Worksheet: p. 9
Copy the sentences with a pencil.
If there is no extra time, leave the worksheet blank.
March 2007